From the German of Wilhelm Müller
I am Constantine Kanaris:I, who lie beneath this stone,Twice into the air in thunderHave the Turkish galleys blown.
In my bed I died--a Christian,Hoping straight with Christ to be;Yet one earthly wish is buriedDeep within the grave with me--
That upon the open oceanWhen the third Armada came,They and I had died together,Whirled aloft on wings of flame.
Yet 'tis something that they've laid meIn a land without a stain:Keep it thus, my God and Saviour,Till I rise from earth again!
Words in this poem
- armada n.
- A fleet of armed ships; a squadron. Specifically, the Spanish fleet which was sent to assail England, a. d. 1558. [Sp. armada, L. as if armata (sc. classic fleet), fr. armatus, p. p. of armare. See Arm, v. t. Army.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the German of Wilhelm Müller is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #10945; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Edmondstoune Aytoun, From the German of Wilhelm Müller, in Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers (1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10945, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/aytoun-lays/from-the-german-of-wilhelm-m-ller.html, id L10321.
Form and metre
From the German of Wilhelm Müller is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A kanaris · stoneA · thunder · blownA
- 2 -A-A christian · beA · buried · meA
- 3 -A-A ocean · cameA · together · flameA
- 4 -A-A me · stainA · saviour · againA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I am Constantine Kanaris: | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| I, who lie beneath this stone, | 7 | ······· |
| Twice into the air in thunder | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Have the Turkish galleys blown. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| In my bed I died--a Christian, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Hoping straight with Christ to be; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Yet one earthly wish is buried | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Deep within the grave with me-- | 7 | ······· |
| That upon the open ocean | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When the third Armada came, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| They and I had died together, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Whirled aloft on wings of flame. | 8 | ·˘˘/···· |
| Yet 'tis something that they've laid me | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| In a land without a stain: | 7 | ······· |
| Keep it thus, my God and Saviour, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Till I rise from earth again! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.